Speaking yesterday (Tuesday) during the COP31 climate conference in Antalya, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdülkadir Uraloğlu responded to questions, particularly from Azerbaijani journalists, about the reopening of the Turkey-Armenia border.
"We have completed the necessary preparations both for the railway crossing and the Alican road border crossing. We arewaiting for Armenia and Azerbaijan to reach a full agreement," he said.
Uraloğlu continued:
"Armenia is our neighbor. We are waiting for Armenia and Azerbaijan to reach a full agreement. This is important to us. Once this agreement is reached, we will also open the borders. I am also in contact with the Armenian minister. We have completed the necessary preparations for opening both the railway crossing and the Alican road border crossing. Taking Azerbaijan's sensitivities into account as well, we will open the crossings once a mutual agreement is reached. I don't think this will take much longer; it will happen in the near future."
The land borders between Turkey and Armenia have been closed since 1993. Ankara has repeatedly stated that the border will only be opened following a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Armenia, meanwhile, has completed preparations at the Margara border crossing and is waiting for the Turkish side.
The current normalization process between Armenia and Turkey began in late 2021. Since then, the two sides have agreed to open the border to citizens of third countries, although this arrangement has not yet been implemented.
Last week, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that Yerevan and Ankara could establish diplomatic relations "soon."
(APA, CivilNet)
